B.C. Minor Hockey Championship tournaments featuring North Okanagan-Shuswap teams continued Monday March 17.
TIER 1 U13 @ CAMPBELL RIVER
VERNON WATKIN MOTORS MUSTANGS 11 Victoria Admirals 1
The Mustangs scored the game's first eight goals as they cruised to their second win in as many games.
Rowan McGrath, who scored four goals in Vernon's opening-day 5-3 win over the host North Island Bears, continued to feast on Vancouver Island opponents, scoring three times. Thompson Podollan added two goals and singles went to Kingston Prenioslo, Emmett Davis, Nixon Spencer, Korben White, Colby Boltz, and Tucker Williams.
BURNABY WINTER CLUB 7 VERNON WATKIN MOTORS MUSTANGS 1
The Lower Mainland champions scored the game's final six goals in handing Vernon its first defeat.
Emerson Papadatos had two goals for the Winter Club, who sit at 2-0-1. The Mustangs drop to 2-1.
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: VERNON VS SEMIAHMOO RAVENS (3-0);
TIER 1 U15 @ KAMLOOPS
NORTH ZONE KINGS 4 COQUITLAM COMETS 1
Hudson Deisroth snapped a 1-1 tie at 3:28 of the third period to lift the Okanagan champs to their second straight win.
Josiah Strykowski Indequi and Jake Black added insurance markers for the Kings. Aidan Boyd had the team's goal in the first period.
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: NORTH ZONE KINGS (2-0) VS NORTHEAST TRACKERS (2-0);
TIER 2 U15 @ NANAIMO
VERNON VIPERS 3 PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS 2
Goals 87 seconds apart early in the third period from Jackson Ford and Aiden Miller capped the Vipers' comeback from a 2-0 first-period deficit.
Declen Blondin had the other goal for the Vipers, who improved to 2-1, and clinched a berth in the semifinals Tuesday. The Cougars fell to 0-3.
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: VERNON VIPERS VS CRANBROOK BUCKS (2-1) - winner advances to gold-medal game Tuesday night; Loser plays in bronze-medal contest Tuesday afternoon;
TIER 3 U15 @ CRANBROOK
After opening with a pair of ties, the North Okanagan/Salmon Arm Knights will look to get into the win column Tuesday (see Original Story, below, for Monday result).
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: NORTH OKANAGAN/SALMON ARM KNIGHTS (0-0-2) VS QUESNEL THUNDER (0-2);
TIER 4 U15 @KITIMAT
KITIMAT WINTERHAWKS 11 SICAMOUS EAGLES 1
The host and defending provincial champion Winterhawks scored four times in 5:16 early in the first period, and cruised to an impressive 11-1 decision.
Blake John had the lone goal for the Eagles, who dropped to 1-1. Kitimat is also 1-1.
Sicamous wraps up pool play Tuesday, needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: SICAMOUS EAGLES (1-1) VS LANGLEY EAGLES (2-0)
TIER 1 U18 @ COQUITLAM
CLOVERDALE COLTS 3 NORTH ZONE KINGS 2
Ty Russell Jeffery scored twice for Cloverdale in the third period to give the Colts their second win in as many games.
Matthew West made things exciting for the fans, scoring for the Kings with eight seconds left, but the Okanagan champs could not get the equalizer.
Matteo David Galasso had the other goal for the Kings, who are 0-1-1 and in need of a win in their final pool game to have any hope of advancing to the semifinals.
GAME TUESDAY, MARCH 18: NORTH ZONE KINGS (0-1-1) vs VICTORIA ADMIRALS (1-1);
ORIGNAL STORY
Rowan McGrath went Bear hunting Sunday.
The Vernon Watkin Motors Mustangs forward scored four times to lead the Mustangs to a 5-3 win over the host North Island Bears as the B.C. Tier 1 U13 hockey championships began Sunday, March 16, in Campbell River.
McGrath and Kingston Prenioslo staked the Okanagan champ Mustangs to a 2-0 lead after the first period. The host Bears tied the game in the second when Reef Cegnar scored shorthanded goals 16 seconds apart.
McGrath took care of the rest, scoring the final three goals for Vernon, who play the Victoria Admirals and Burnaby Winter Club Monday.
Five other North Okanagan-Shuswap teams are competing around the province for B.C. championship banners.
TIER 1 U15 @ KAMLOOPS
The North Zone Kings got goals from eight different players in an 8-2 romp over the West Kootenay Avalanche in their opening game Sunday.
Harlan Hesby, Aidan Boyd, Fynn Cruikshank, Layten Oliver, Nathan Sluggett, Daniel Cooke, Bryden Ezekiel, and Wade Lightfoot also scored for the Kings while Nash McStay chipped in three assists. Murray Blackwell picked up the win in goal.
The Kings, made up of players from Vernon to Revelstoke, take on the Coquitlam Comets Monday.
TIER 2 U15 @ NANAIMO
The Vernon Vipers sit 1-1 heading into their lone game Monday, March 17, vs the Prince George Cougars.
Vernon opened the provincials Saturday, March 15, with a 5-1 loss to the South Delta Storm. Declen Blondin had the lone goal for the Vipers, who rebounded Sunday, March 16, to edge the Oceanside Generals of Parksville 4-3.
Blondin scored the game-winner with 53 seconds left in regulation time as the Snakes rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits.
Aiden Miller, Kellen Balcaen, and Lincoln Alger also scored for Vernon.
TIER 3 U15 @ CRANBROOK
The North Okanagan/Salmon Arm Knights have a pair of ties in their opening two games.
Arlo Heckrodt's second marker of the game with 93 seconds left in regulation time gave the Knights a 3-3 tie with the Sunshine Coast Blues of Gibsons-Sechelt Monday morning.
Levi Hodge had the other for NO/SA, who opened the provincials Sunday with a 2-2 draw against the host Cranbrook Bucks.
Remo Blindenbacher and Mason Pehowich scored for the Knights in the first- and second-periods, respectively, after falling behind 2-0. There was no scoring in the final 20 minutes.
TIER 4 U15 @ KITIMAT
The Sicamous Eagles – made up of players from Armstrong, Enderby, Sicamous, Salmon Arm, and Revelstoke – opened their provincial championship tournament with a 5-1 win over the Creston Valley Bruins.
Adam Crowe, Jaxxon Polson, Mitchell Litzenberger, Caleb Macdonald, and Blake John scored for the Eagles while Litzenberger and Ryerson Taber chipped in two assists each.
The Eagles take on the host Kitimat Winterhawks Monday evening.
TIER 1 U18 @ COQUITLAM
The North Zone Kings jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead, but settled for a 2-2 tie against the East Kootenay Avalanche in their first game Sunday.
Tayden Lake and Landon Grant scored for the Okanagan champion Kings, a team made up of players from Vernon to Salmon Arm.
The Kings take on the Cloverdale Colts Monday.
